Britain has been given an extra bank holiday for the day of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral on Monday 19 September 2022.
This will be the first state funeral of a monarch since 1952 and the first state funeral of any kind since Winston Churchill was given the honour in 1965.
For further advice, NFU Employment Service members can contact our Employment Specialists on 0370 840 0234.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said the decision had been taken to “allow individuals, businesses and other organisations to pay their respects to Her Majesty and commemorate her reign, while marking the final day of the period of national mourning”.
Although bank holidays do not automatically give workers statutory entitlement to time off, and employers can include the day as part of annual leave entitlement, the department said that next Monday “will be a unique national moment, and we would encourage employers to respond sensitively to requests from workers who wish to take time off”.
There is no statutory entitlement to time off for bank holidays. Entitlement to the additional days holiday will depend on the wording of the employment contract – see table below. You should also consider how you have dealt with other additional bank holidays in the past.
|
Contract wording |
Entitlement to extra bank holiday |
|
Entitled to all bank holidays |
Yes |
|
Entitled to the usual bank holidays |
No |
|
Entitled to 8 bank holidays |
You will need to decide which 8 of the 10 bank holidays* to pay this calendar year |
|
Specifies which bank holidays to be taken |
Only if 19 September 2022 stated (unlikely) |
|
28 days inclusive of all bank holidays |
Yes but it will be deducted from employee’s annual leave entitlement. Please give notice to employees about this. |
|
Silent on bank holidays |
No |
* There are normally 8 calendar bank holidays a year. This year (so far) there have been an additional 2 bank holidays – the Queen’s Jubilee in June and the Queen’s Funeral on Monday 19 September.
Where there is a contractual requirement to work bank holidays, it is at your discretion to allow your employee to take 19 September off work. You might want to consider how you dealt with the additional bank holiday for the Platinum Jubilee although you are not obliged to adopt the same approach.
This is a matter for discussion between individuals and their employer. Please check the employment contract.
There are no statutory rules regarding extra pay on bank holidays. Please refer to the employment contract for rules of any additional payment for work on a bank holiday.
An agricultural worker required by their employer to work on the public holiday or bank holiday is entitled to be paid not less than the overtime rate specified in the Order/their contract of employment (if higher rate).
An agricultural worker who is not required by their employer to work on the public holiday or bank holiday is to have the balance of their accrued annual leave for that leave year under this Order reduced by 1 day in respect of the public holiday or bank holiday on which the agricultural worker is not required to work. Please speak to your employees and serve notice if this is to apply on Monday 19 September 2022.
If there is a contractual entitlement to all bank holidays, the days annual leave will need to be reinstated.
In the absence of a contractual entitlement, it is dependent on whether you decide to provide your employees with the additional bank holiday and if you do then it would be reasonable to reinstate the annual leave.
Yes, this bank holiday will apply in all parts of the UK.
This bank holiday is official and applies in the same way as all others.
There are currently no plans for an annual holiday.
Yes, schools will be closed. If you are not allowing your employees the day off as a bank holiday this could cause childcare issues for some of your employees who may request to take the day off as TOD (Time Off for Dependents).
TOD is a statutory right to unpaid time off to deal with an emergency in relation to a dependent. As we have had more than a weeks’ notice of the additional bank holiday technically this situation is not an emergency and employees could be expected to make alternative childcare arrangements. However, in view of the unique circumstances’ employers are encouraged to respond sensitively.
As a gesture of goodwill, you may have decided to give the additional bank holiday day as paid leave regardless of the contract wording, to allow all your workers to join in the unique national moment.
We recommend that you confirm this in writing making it clear to your employees that it is at your discretion and as a gesture of goodwill to reflect the unique circumstances. This will avoid you creating a precedent for the future, especially if this is the first time you have provided an additional bank holiday.
